Office and Practice Policies

Please read carefully and let us know if you have any questions. A hard copy of our office and practice policies is available upon request.

Confidentiality

All information and records obtained in the course of treatment shall be kept confidential, unless you provide written consent prior to disclosure. Please note, Oregon law requires some exceptions to absolute confidentiality. These exceptions are as follows:

If there is reason to believe you may be in danger of harming yourself or others

If there is reason to believe that abuse or neglect of a child, elder, or an individual with disabilities has occurred

If a court order is received or other situations required by law

If required for insurance billing purposes

If an emergency situation requires sharing of information

Additionally, if your provider is seeking consultation with another expert regarding treatment planning

Emergency Contact

Should you wish to provide an emergency contact, they will only be contacted in the case that your provider has referred you to emergency services and you are unable to contact them yourself or per your request.

Payment

Payment is due at the time of your appointment. We accept most major credit cards or cash payment. We require a credit card on file for billing purposes. Unfortunately, we can not make change for cash payments so please plan accordingly. You are responsible to check with your insurance for information concerning your mental health benefits, deductibles, copays or coinsurance, and network coverage. If you have questions about a balance statement you may contact our billing team at (866)949-1070. If you would like to make a payment over the phone please call (503)664-4127.

Billing Responsibility

If you have indicated another party responsible for payment of services received at Sunstone Psychiatric, LLC they may receive communications from us or our billing department related to account balances.

Cancellations/Missed Appointments/Late Arrivals

We understand that schedules can be unpredictable! If you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, please call or email us 24 hours prior to your originally scheduled appointment. If you are an established patient you may notify us through the patient portal as well. Without 24 hour notice, you may be billed at the full session rate - this may exceed the insurance company rate. If you arrive more than 15 minutes late to an appointment this may be considered a no show, and your appointment will be rescheduled and late cancellation fee may be charged. Please note, insurance companies will not pay for missed sessions; payment for missed sessions or late cancellations is the responsibility of the patient.

Termination of Treatment

If a patient “no-shows” for an appointment and does not contact Sunstone Psychiatric, LLC, within 30 days, it is assumed treatment has been terminated and must be re-established for further services to continue which includes medication refills.

Sunstone Psychiatric, LLC reserves the right to terminate treatment if a patient is not actively participating in treatment goals, a patient is referred to another provider who may be of better service, or when deemed necessary by Sunstone Psychiatric, LLC. Such as, if payment is not received, and/or patient or family member/significant-otherare hostile or aggressive, or cause any disruption in our work space.

Typically, a patient must be seen a minimum of every three (3) months or more frequently as indicated by the treatment plan for continuation of the provider-patient relationship.

Email Communication

Please be aware that email is not a confidential means of communication unless both parties are communicating through secure avenues. Sunstone Psychiatric, LLC can send and receive emails through a signed BAA Google Apps email accounts (admin@sunstonepsychiatric.com, annie@sunstonepsyhchiatric.com, larissa@sunstonepsychiatric.com) that have encryption technology by Virtru. This technology facilitates secure, HIPAA compliant, electronic communication. It is recommended that no information regarding your personal health history be communicated using electronic means without this or similar technology.

Communicating with standard email is not secure. Please take this into consideration when sharing your personal health information.

Telephone/Email/Patient Portal Messages

Sunstone Psychiatric, LLC will make an effort to check messages at least once per weekday and attempt to return messages within 24-48 hours. Currently, we our in the office 4 days per week. We do not offer 24 hour call availability. Once you become an established patient with Sunstone Psychiatric LLC, you may set up a secure account through onpatient.com which allows for confidential messaging services for non-urgent communication only.

For non-emergency/non-urgent matters, please call:

Larissa Birndorf, PMHNP-BC, 503.644.4127

Annie Hood, PMHNP-BC, 503.644.4127

Please note, we utilize phone service through phone.com. Phone.com does not require or intend to access Sunstone Psychiatric, LLC data in the course of providing services, including but not limited to any confidential health related information of Sunstone Psychiatric, LLC patients, which may include group health plans, that constitutes Protected Health Information, as defined in 45 C.F. R. §160.103 under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA Rules”).

Texting

We do not use texting as a form of communication with patients.

Mental Health Emergency/Urgent Services

If you are experiencing a mental health emergency, please call 911, go to the nearest emergency room or utilize local crisis services:

If you are admitted to a hospital, please notify your provider as soon as possible so we can assist in the coordination of your care.

Medication Refills

The routine practice of Sunstone Psychiatric, LLC is to write a prescription to cover your medication needs until your next appointment. If you keep scheduled appointments or reschedule promptly, there should be no need for additional refills. If an exception occurs, please have your pharmacy fax a refill request to (888) 765-0392 (please do not send an email or leave a voicemail) at least 5 working days before you will run out of medication. Refills will be considered for patients with a scheduled follow up appointment and on a case by case basis. Please note, we do not process refill requests after hours, on weekends or holidays.

Please remember it is your responsibility to schedule a follow-up appointment before you run out of medication and within the return time frame determined in your treatment plan. Controlled substances cannot be refilled by phone and will only be written during office visits, if appropriate.

Please note Sunstone Psychiatric, LLC is committed to the health, safety and well-being of our patients. We take a judicious and conservative approach when considering treatment with medications that are classified as controlled substances.

Length of Treatment

Duration of treatment varies based on the nature of treatment and individual patient needs. The frequency of appointments will vary depending on medication response, therapeutic benefit as well as the type of medication prescribed.

Services Not Provided

Suntone Psychiatric, LLC does not provide court evaluations or testimony including but not limited to child custody, workers compensation, or criminal cases. Additionally we do not complete disability evaluations or documentation for emotional support animals.

Office Space

Sunstone Psychiatric, LLC is a partnership consisting of Annie Hood, PMHNP-BC and Larissa Birndorf, PMHNP-BC. The other independent clinical practitioners in the office 2029 SE Jefferson St, Milwaukie, OR are separately licensed independent practitioners and are responsible for each of their respective practices. Sunstone Psychiatric, LLC and the other practitioners are only affiliated through office space sharing unless otherwise explicitly stated in writing.

Revision of office and practice policies

Sunstone Psychiatric, LLC reserves the right to revise our office and practice policies at any time by updating this document without advance notice to you. Such revisions shall be effective immediately upon posting. Therefore, we encourage you to check our office and practice policies frequently.